The document EP 0 836 209 A2 discloses a circuit-breaker which can be used in an electrical high-voltage network. This circuit-breaker has a rotationally symmetrical arcing chamber which is filled with an electrically negative gas, for example with SF6 gas, as the quenching and isolating medium. In the connected state, a switching pin bridges the distance between the two main contacts of the arcing chamber, which in this type of switch are at a fixed distance from one another. During disconnection, the switching pin is moved axially in one direction, and the two main contacts are moved jointly in the opposite direction. The switching pin then strikes an arc between the two main contacts, which burns until it is quenched in an arc area that is located between the main contacts.
The hot and ionized gases which are produced in the arc area are dissipated, with some of them being stored in a hot volume and being used later in a known manner to assist the quenching process. The remaining hot gases are dissipated axially on both sides through the tubular main contacts into an exhaust volume. These axial gas flows which are carried in the tubular channels generally dissipate the majority of the hot gases, which are contaminated with conductive switching residues, out of the arc area so that no charge carriers are present after the arc has been quenched, which could assist restriking of the arc between the main contacts. In order to ensure an effective flow, the tubular channels are designed to assist the flow as far as possible. Furthermore, this avoids any excessively high backpressure from the exhaust volume having a reaction back into the arc area, with a negative influence on the quenching process. This circuit-breaker has a comparatively high disconnection rating.